Aircraft high-lift systems are already known which have a central drive unit and a branching drive system for mechanical power transmission to the drive stations of individual segments of landing-flap/leading-edge slat systems. If a landing-flap segment and/or a transmission for the branching drive system were to become blocked, this segment and the corresponding branch of the drive system and/or the transmission and the corresponding branch of the drive system would have to absorb all of the drive energy from the drive unit as a reaction moment, and would have to be designed to be accordingly massive and heavy.
Mechanical load limiter devices (torque limiters) are provided as protection apparatuses in aircraft high-lift systems with a branching drive system such as these, in order to prevent local overloading in that segment and in the corresponding branch of the drive system and/or the transmission and the corresponding branch of the drive system in the event of blocking of the landing-flap segment and/or of a transmission in the branching drive system. In this case, the landing-flap segment is protected by the station load limiter (actuation torque limiter) and the branching drive system is protected by the system load limiter (system torque limiter).
On the basis of mechanical components, load limiter devices such as these in their own right represent a largely optimized solution. However, because of their complex design, these systems increase the mass and the operating costs of an aircraft equipped with them and, furthermore, by nature of their function they are activated only in the event of faults. Finally, with narrow design tolerances and with parametrically sensitive system dynamics, these load limiter devices can also respond when the drive system is intact and operating without faults or errors, then blocking the entire system.